Gas compressor



Tune 25,@1929. WRIGHT GAS COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 5, 1928 INVENToR.

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Patented June 25, 1929.

UNITED STATES ALBERT WRIGHT, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

GAS COMPRESSOR,

Application filed January 3, 1928. Serial No. 244,151.

My present .invention relatos to a compres sor for refrigeration purposes and more particularly to one wherein mercury is caused to move by centrifugal force and act as the gas com pressing agency.

An object of my invention is to provide a self-contained compressor of the above type which will require a. minimum of space and be si'lbstantially free from loss of gas or mercury due to leakage.

Another object of my invention is to provide in a compressor of the above type a means whereby the mercury7 after it has compressed the gas, may be separated therefrom to thereby permit the compressed gas to flow to the cooling coil free of mercury.

My invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which with the foregoing will be set forth at length in the following description where I have outlined in full that form of apparatus which I have selected for illustration in the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification;

In this drawing I have .shown one form of a compressor emhodyin g my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to this specific form since this invention as expressed in the claims appended hereto may be embodied in a number of forms.

In the accoi'npanying drawing I show` a view in elevation with the various parts thereof broken away to expose the interior construction thereof.

Referring now to the drawing. 10 designates a. hermetically seal-ed enclosing casing having a cover 11. Mounted within the casing 1() 1 show a motor l2. The motor 12 is secured to the casing l() at its bottom by any suitable means so th at its shaft 13 will entend vertically upward. Mounted upon thc shaft 13 and adapted to rotate therewith I show a rotor element 141. This rotor element is in the shape of an inverted cone. Arranged upon the outer surface of the rotorniember 14, I provide a coil or number of coils of piping 15 which are adapted to conduct gas and mercury 'upwardly as will be explained more fully hereinafter. Theup perpart of the rotor niember 141- is provided with an over-hanging flange 1G which forms a recess 17 and projectingl into the recess 17 is a disk 18. `Above the disk 1S I also provide a second disk or baffle 19. The disks 18 and 19 are securely fastened to and rotate with. the rotor element111A as a unit.

Centrally of the rotor element and adjacent the shaft 13 I provide a guide bearing com prising a member 20 secured to the hub of the rotor element and av second guide member 21 which is held centrally of the casing 1() by means of a hollow bearing 22. Interposcd between the cover 11 and the member 21 I provide a spring 23 which maintains the parts in close contact so as to prevent the escape of gas therethrough.

Projecting into the end of the hollow bearing member 22 I show a check valve 2a through which the gas under pressure is allowed to flow. Surrounding the valve 24 I show a housing 25 to which I connect a suitable cooling coil 26. The cooling coil can be located in any suitable position with respect to the compressor7 but for the purpose of compactness I have shown it as coiled around the outside of the enclosing casing 10 and having its outlet at the lower end thereof at 27, from which point the gas is conducted to a suitable expansion valve and refrigerator coil from which the gas again returns after expansion to the casing 10 through the inlet pipe 23 which I have shown in the drawing as passing in through the cover 11. The return gas will then be again compressed and circulated through the same cycle. In addition to this gas, the enclosing casing 10 also contains mercury 29 which is also circulated through a predetermined cycle and returned thereto, as will hereinafter appear.

Referring now to the coils 15, I have shown funnels or dared members 30 located at their lower ends. These funnels are so flared with respect to the direction of rotation of the rotor thatI they will tend to scoop or pick Vup pas. In addition to the tunnels 30 I also provide short pipes or nozzles'll which discharge into the threat` ofthe tunnels 30. Upon the lower ends of the pipes 31 I provide an enlarged inlet 32 which projects downwardly into the mercury 29 so that as the pipes 31 are rotated mercury will be scooped up and projected, due to centrifugal force, into the lower end of the coils 15 where it will entrap a. portion of 'the gas scooped up by the funnels 30 and carry it upuf'ardly through the coils 15 and out at their upper ends where thc gas will be separated from the mercury, the mercury passing in one direction and the gas under pressure passing out through the valve 24 to the external circuit of the gas, as previously described. The

nozzles-31 are shown in the drawing as spot welded to the rot-or member 14 but it should be'understood that they may bef secured in any other suitable manner.

The operation of my device is as follows,

- assuming that the motor 12 is energized and fdue to the tunnels 30 and, as a result, gas will be entrained with the mercury and the two willmove upwardly through the coils 15, the

vmercury acting in this case as a moving pistonto compress the gas and asthe mercury and gas move upwardly through the coils 15, the same getting larger in diameter at each turn, the pressure thereon will be increased. As soon as the mercury and are discharged from the upper end of the coils 15, the mercury by reason of its higher specific gravity will be thrown routwardly into the recess 17 where it willl be held, the gas then being forced toward the center ot the rotor and out through a suitable opening 33 in the hub of the rotor 14 and thence outwardly through the valve 24 to the cooling coil 26.

As themerci'iry continues to accumulate in the recess 17, it will balancefon each side of the disk18 until an excess is present therein. The excess will then spill over the overhanging flange 16 and between it and the disk 19. The mercury will then flow down the walls of the enclosing casing 10 to the bottom thereoi and there remain until it-is'again circulated through the above cycle.

Then the mach-ine is at rest the mercury will'iiow downwardly through the coils 15 and remain at the bottom ot the casing 1() and when it is desired to start up the machine the mercury will again rise in the coils 15 r'and assume a position within the recess 17 so as to immediately provide a seal therefor and thus make possible the building up of afpr'essure'on the gas. In order to facilitate the filling of the recess 17 at the time when the compressor is started up I have provided thedisk 18 in dish-shape, or in other words, with a recess 34 into which some of the mercury will be caught: when the machine is brought to a stop, some of the mercury in the recess 17, instead of flowing downwardly through the coils 15, flowing to the right and Y into the recess 34 where it will remain until the machine is again-started. As the machine is again started this mercury will be immediately v thrown outwardly into the recess 17 where it will form a'seal against the passage of gas around the edge ot the dislr 1S so that the compression ot the gas will start; immediately without relying upon the mereury carried yupwardly through the coils 15 to form this seal.

In illustrating my invention I have shown therotor 14 as provided with tour spirally arranged conduits 15 with their respective flared inlets 30 and nozzles 31 arranged equidistant about the vertical axis oit the rotor. In this arrangement the four spirals are interleaved with each other and, as shown, each has substantially four complete convolutions. I have shown these spiral conduits as having a. substantially uniform diameter throughout their length. These features are only shown in this manner by way of illustration and I desire to have it understood that I may vary the diameter of the spiral conduits 15, in which ease the diameter of these conduits will be decreased as the discharge end thereof .is approached. This will reduce the volume of gas being ear- 'ied upwardly therethrough and further fncilitate its compression. It will also be evident that the number of turns of each spiral conduit may vary and that the number of suoli conduits may also be increased or reduced, as desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to Secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a gas compressor for refrigeratimi purposes, the combination of a hermetically sea-led casing adapted to contain a heavy liquid and a gas, a motor supported within said casing, an inverted conically shaped rotor driven by said motor, means carried by said rotor adapted to pick up said heavy liquid by centrifugal force and entrap and compress a part of said gas therein, and means at the top ot said rotor for separating the gas from said liquid.

2. In a gas compressor for refrigeration purposes, the combination of a hermetieally sealed casing adapted to contain a liquid and a gas, a motor supported within said easing, an inverted conically shaped rotor driven b v said motor, a conduit around the surface ot said rotor having a tiared inlet at its lower end to receive a part of said gas, and a nozzle projecting into said flared inlet having a scoop at its lower end adapted to pick up and project a portion of said liquid into said conduit to entrap and carry gas therethrough, said gas and said liquid being forced upwardly through said conductor by centrifugal force.

3. In a gas compressor for refrigeration purposes, the combination of a sealed casing adapted to contain ay gas and mercury, a spirally coiled conduit having an open end at its innermost turn adapted to rotate about a vertical axis, a motor for driving said coil, means at the open end of the innermost turn of said coil for entrapping a portion of said mercury,

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whereby the mercury because of centrifugal force Will nieve and force said gas through said coil, and Ineans at the discharge end of said coil for separating the gas from the inercui-3Y and conducting it to an expansion coil.

4. In a gas compressor for refrigeration purposes, a centriugally operated pumping ineans for a gas and a heavy liquid, a motor for driving said pumping Ineans, a separating 10 means at the discharge end of said pumping means for separating the gas from said liquid eon'iprising an overhanging recess into which the heavier liquid is held by centrifugal force, a disk projecting into the liquid held by said recess to provide a seal against the passage of gas, and nieans adjacent said seal for c0nducting said gas free of said liquid t0 an expansion chamber.

' ALBERT WRIGHT. 

